


151. breathing

by piggy09



Series: The Sestre Daily Drabble Project [103]
Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 20:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8259935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piggy09/pseuds/piggy09
Summary: “Helena, love,” she says. “Would you like some tea?”
Helena rolls her mouth around; Siobhan can hear the sound of sugar cubes clacking against her teeth, but her voice is impressively clear when she says: “Yes. Please. Thank you.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> me for one hundred and two consecutive days: the sestre daily drabble project!  
> me, for some reason, on day 103: ...featuring siobhan!

There’s dust hanging in the sunbeams at Siobhan’s house – this place has been unused, left empty for months while they figure everything out. But now everything is figured, and there are two cribs in the spare bedroom upstairs, and downstairs three people are sitting around a dusty kitchen table and having tea.

It’s quiet. Siobhan can’t help holding her breath, instinctively, in case the silence will shatter if she breathes on it too hard. Helena keeps stealing sugar cubes from the bowl in the center with a guilty desperation, like they’ll slap her hand if they catch her stealing, like she’ll die if she doesn’t. Steal. Steal, and pop a sugar cube into her mouth every now and then to suck on.

Siobhan meets Sarah’s eyes. Sarah looks desperate also – but her mouth is empty. Siobhan knows what Sarah is desperate for. Siobhan is desperate for the same.

“Helena, love,” she says. “Would you like some tea?”

Helena rolls her mouth around; Siobhan can hear the sound of sugar cubes clacking against her teeth, but her voice is impressively clear when she says: “Yes. Please. Thank you.”

Siobhan pours the tea and Helena watches her. Sarah nudges her in the side. “You can put sugar in it, if you want,” she says. But Helena just watches the tea steam, tilts her head one way and then another and then drinks it. It’s probably filtering through the sugar cubes she already has in her mouth. Siobhan would say _put milk in it_ or _wait ‘til it cools_ or _we’re not going to love you any less if—_ but it’s too late: Helena has already swalloed.

She puts the cup down. She stares at it on the table, like she’s trying to read the leaves at the bottom.

“Tastes like leafs,” she says.

Siobhan presses her lips together to keep from making an unkind sound. Sarah doesn’t do anything of the sort: she snorts, not even bothering trying to disguise it as anything else.

“It’s made of leaves, meathead,” she says, grabbing the teapot from Siobhan – rude, Siobhan raised her better – and pouring her own cup. “Same way coffee’s made of beans.”

“Coffee is made of _beans?_ ” Helena says, aghast. A sugar cube falls out from under her tongue and makes a sticky little _plop_ on the tablecloth. Siobhan pretends she didn’t see it, pours her own cup.

“So’s chocolate,” Sarah says, clearly having the time of her life.

“No,” Helena says. She looks at Siobhan. “No? No.”

“Afraid she’s right, chicken,” Siobhan says, adds just a splash of milk, stirs. Takes a sip and feels it warm her bones, the way good tea always does. When she looks back up Helena is watching her thoughtfully, longingly, looking for something Siobhan doesn’t think she can give her. She looks down at her own teacup and frowns at it.

“Tastes better with sugar,” Sarah says, her shoulder bumping into Helena’s, achingly easy. “And milk. S always brews it too strong, drove me mad when I was a kid.”

“Should’ve known better,” Siobhan mutters. “Last thing you needed was anything bitter.” They exchange a look and Siobhan wants it to mean _I’m sorry_ but it doesn’t mean that. She breaks eye contact, looks over and sees Helena watching her desperately. _Desperately_ , hands closed around her teacup.

“Here,” Sarah says. “Come on.” Her voice is gentle, coaxing, and Helena lets go so Sarah can doctor the cup. She passes the teacup back over to Helena, says: “Try it now.”

Helena takes another tentative sip, looks at Sarah. “Better,” she says quietly.

“Good,” Sarah says, and they look at each other for a moment – something that Siobhan can’t understand and she knows, maybe, why Helena looked at her the way she did. There is something there that she can’t reach. It doesn’t belong to her. She doesn’t know if she wants it to.

Helena puts down the teacup, grabs a sugar cube in pinched fingers, and crunches it loudly between her back teeth. Sarah scoffs at her, says: “Gross” with an easy grin that means something besides that. Helena chuckles and they’re play-fighting like teenagers, like sisters sitting at a table sharing afternoon tea. Siobhan smiles into her own cup and doesn’t say a word. She just watches them, the two of them learning how to be something easy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please kudos + comment if you enjoyed! :)


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